Rukongai Dogs
by garganta
Summary: Following loosely the Bleach Manga, this story retells all those great adventures our beloved Midget and Strawberry experienced- with one little yet great difference: Rukia grew up in Inuzuri and with her Ichigo! How will this change the Bleach story when Ichigo and Rukia are lifelong friends, when they survived the hell that is Inuzuri together? Read and you will know!
1. The Strawberry That Protects

**Welly welly welly welly well! I am back! With a new story no less! :) You guys can't imagine how happy I am about managing to write this whole new story! It is an amazing feeling. And about me…well, I am doing well. I have been working, studying, playing the Mass Effect series through a quadrillion times, reading all kinds of fanfiction…my psychotherapy is going well too, my doctor is helping me a lot and I'll never be able to thank her enough for that. She is one reason that I've been able to write again like this.**

**And about this story…it will follow loosely the manga, that means: Aizen will be a betrayer, there will be war between shinigami and espada, but all that with Ichigo attending to the shinigami academy. The timeframe of this story will be sat at the time, when Shinji and the other vizards are still captains and vice captains. How many years before Ichigo became a shinigami did that happen, that Shinji and the vizards were turned to vizards anyways? I'm not really that good with the Bleach timeframe and stuff :D**

**I want to thank _Captain Hair_ for allowing me to use his basic idea to his story "Death Is Only The Beginning", which I can only recommend to you!**

**But just so, all of you know: this story will be no copy of Captain Hair's story. He gave me permission to use his idea, under the condition that there will only be minor similarities and I wouldn't have it any other way. **

**So thanks again, Captain Hair!**

**And another info: All my other stories will be on hiatus for the time being. I will also write this in the summary of those stories. I'm sorry, but I promise that these stories will NOT BE FORGOTTEN! I will eventually continue these stories but for now, for the time being, I want to solely concentrate on this story.**

**So, now that we got those things over with…have fun reading!**

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Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach Manga or any of it's characters. They all belong to Kubo Tite.

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A young boy with orange hair and amber eyes woke up in a dusty and dirty street. His head whipped rapidly from left to right to left again. Shady figures walked around, not sparing him a second glance. There were a couple of men, beating down a food seller while two younger boys, probably in their early teenage years, stole the food from his rundown booth.

Terrified, he got to his feet and turned away, ready to run, when he bumped into a middle-aged man, causing him to drop his bowl of water.

"You brat! Do you know what I had to do to get this?" He yelled, swinging a fist in the boy's direction.

Only out of reflex dodging, driven by nothing but adrenaline, the boy ran past the man into an alleyway, still hearing the man shouting. When he thought that he was safe for the moment, he leaned against the wall of cottage that looked like it would collapse at any moment. Looking himself up and down, he realized his clothing for the first time; a worn out kimono, black with dirty white pattern. He couldn't remember ever owning that kimono, but he also couldn't remember ever owning anything else. He couldn't remember anything but his name.

"Where am I?" He whispered to himself, lost of how he got here and where _here_ was. Standing up shakily, he looked to the direction where he came from; scanning the area for the man he bumped into. Seeing him nowhere he hastily walked out of the alleyway, searching for someone, _anyone_, who didn't look that dangerous to ask all the questions he had, hopefully finding answers. But all he saw was crime and degeneration, people robbing people, people hitting people- all things, a boy of 9 years shouldn't see.

He kept walking the dirty path, his mind running all the different possibilities of what and where this place could be. But nothing made sense to him. He may be young, but he wasn't stupid. Taking a look to his left, he saw that the area was free of any buildings and that it led to a huge forest. Picking up his pace a little he walked towards the area, hoping to find a place where he could rest, where he would be alone from all those animal-like people. The 9 year old looked up to the sky when he felt a raindrop land on his nose and sighed.

_Great…just what I needed…_ He thought to himself.

Picking up his pace to a jog, he made his way to the forest in hope to find some sort of a clearance before he had to go too deep and got lost in there. If he didn't find anything he'd be mostly dry at least, thanks to the thick forest.

"Let me go!"

Whipping his head to the direction from where that came, the orange haired boy perked up his ears, concentrating.

"Damn it, you are one feisty little thing!" "Just how we like 'em, eh?"

Running towards the direction of the voices, the boy wondered what was going on. It sounded like there was a girl in trouble and his instincts told him to help people- no matter how old or what gender- and to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. He knew, that was what his name meant; but he didn't know how he knew it.

"I told you to let me GO!"

He was near, the voice of the girl was louder than before; but maybe it was just because she yelled louder- much louder- than before.

"OW- dammit you bitch!"

The boy winced when he heard a loud crack. It sounded like the girl earned herself a wicked backhand. The anger welled up in the boy. Arriving in the clearance, he peeked through the bushes protecting him from being detected, just to see the man, whom he thought to be the one who backhanded the girl, landing vicious hits onto the very small and fragile looking, black-haired girl.

Looking around himself hastily, searching for something, _anything_, to be used as a weapon, he found himself a thick and firm looking branch, broken off from one of the trees. Collecting some stones he also found he made his way back to his previous place. Laying the branch beside him to the floor he again peeked through the bush, seeing the man fondling with his kimono to do things to the young girl the boy's head couldn't even comprehend. The other man held the girl by her arms, not that it was even necessary- the girl looked miserable- bleeding, broken, her eyes empty. She obviously gave in to her fate.

It broke the boy's heart to see the girl like this, but it also strengthened his resolve to hurt these men. Taking a solid looking stone out of his collection, he took careful aim and, with all the strength he could manage, threw it at the man, who now had his kimono open and was reaching for the girl…

And hit. Straight at the man's temple, knocking him out right away. Not giving himself the time to congratulate himself for this amazingly dead on target hit he threw the second stone with rather sharp edges at the other man and hit again, this time an eye, causing the man to scream in pain with blood seeping through between his fingers, as he held the wounded eye. The boy paled at that sight and felt guilt rising for hurting someone else like that but he steeled himself, remembering what they did to a helpless little girl and what else they would have done if he didn't stop them.

Picking up his branch, he ran towards the girl, hitting the bleeding man right at the temple with as much force as possible, knocking him out just like he did with the other man. He picked up the girl bridal style, surprised by how lightweight she was, but sure as hell not complaining.

"Thank you…" He heard the girl mumble at him, as she looked up at him with half lidded eyes. He still thought they were a beautiful shade of blue; almost purple.

"No problem." He answered her as he ran, as far away from the two men, as possible.

After what felt like an eternity, he found another clearance, a small one but at least there was at least a small stream. Laying the girl down gently, causing her to wake up from her short slumber, he laid down himself, trying to catch his breath. As small and lightweight as the girl was, his 9 year old body was not used to that kind of exercise. The girl stood up, groaning as her body was still pretty sore after the beating she got from the men, and walked over to the stream, washing the blood from her face.

She then walked over to him, sat down and looked him over.

"Who are you by the way?" She asked him, her big, blue eyes piercing through him.

Sitting up, he locked his amber eyes with her blue-purple ones. "Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. And you?"

Smiling faintly, she held out a hand, which the boy grabbed instantly, shaking hands with her. "Rukia. Just…Rukia."

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**So, still a pretty short chapter, but I'll do my best to get them longer. I dunno yet, how regularly I'm going to update, but with the time passing it will get quite frequently I guess.**

**Oh, and before I forget: I saw that there's this cool new feature, the Image manager! So, uh, since I am only capable of drawing stickmen, I wondered if there's someone interested in drawing one cover for this story? :D**

**And please, don't you forget to review, you know, I still like reading reviews and after all these months being absent I'm kinda starved ;D **

**garganta**


	2. To Steal And To Howl

**Hellowz. Well, what can I say or do but apologize for this tiny delay? I really couldn't help it. I suddenly got so freaking busy and had to work so many weekends, it was insane. So, as the stress died down a little I literally forced myself to write this for you. It isn't much, it isn't amazingly good, but it is something. A little something from me for my readers. I really do hope that you still enjoy this though. So tell me, what do you like, what don't you like? And you know how- REVIEW! :)**

**Before I forget: I wondered what I should do with Ichigo's living friends, namely Inoue, Chad, Uryuu and Tatsuki. Therefore I have started a poll...like 165846 years ago, but I guess you still can vote there :) And if there's someone who is good in fanarts, he or she may draw something so I can use this new supercool image manager :) Thanks in advance :)**

**If I forgot to answer a review from chapter one, I hereby apologize for that and thank you wholeheartedly for reviewing, dear reader :)**

**Review!**

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Kayegeshawa Okudo, a plump, tall man with small but fierce looking eyes stood behind his water selling booth. It wasn't an easy business but necessary nonetheless. And there weren't any punks who tried to steal his water anymore after what he did to the last one. Let's just say that he won't be stealing anything anymore.

Okudo wasn't an unpleasant person; he wasn't a bully or someone who beat kids. He wouldn't ever touch a woman in a harmful way- as long as she didn't steal water from his booth. He knew that life in Inuzuri was tough; he knew that people were desperate, but did that give them the right to become wild animals, the only goal in their lives to survive, not caring about the next person? It sickened the man.

He started his water booth in hope to remember the inhabitants of Inuzuri of civil behavior, to show them what it was like to buy things like foot and water before they died. But it didn't quite work the way he hoped it would. People thought his booth was an easy target and tried to steal his water, but that also didn't quite work the way the water-thieves hoped it would.

From the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of unruly orange hair. Turning his attention towards the bright hair, he saw a small boy, smirking cockily at him.

"Oi, debu-san*, what did you it for lunch? A whole house?"

"You little brat! Don't you have any respect for your elders?" Okuda snarled, his large hands formed into tights fists. If he held a fist next to the boys head his fist would be the size of said head.

"No, debu-san! I don't have any respect for fat people like you, debu-san! I can't help but think that all those people here have to starve to death because you ate all the food there was in Inuzuri, debu-san!"

The bright haired boy's smirk grew wider as he saw how red the obese man's face became.

"You can count yourself lucky that I don't beat children like most of Inuzuri you brat." Okudo pressed out through gritted teeth.

"You'd be out of breath after half the way towards me anyways, debu-san."

"I've had enough of you!" Okudo shouted, storming towards the orange haired boy.

Well, beating some respect into a cocky brat can't be that wrong.

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A petite, raven haired girl observed the interaction between her companion and the owner of the water boot from her secret spot, waiting patiently for her moment to act.

After being saved from the boy, they decided that it would be saver for two children to work together. Rukia experienced firsthand what could happen to a small child when being caught by grow ups without having backup. She knew that she could count herself lucky and she thanked the stars every night before sleeping for throwing that boy into her life.

That boy was really something else. Aside from having shown an incredible accuracy with stones, he was quite the happy kid, despite the circumstances. Having to fight and steal everyday to survive- probably more often than she dared to believe costing another person's life- she didn't actually see the really bright sides of the situation. Sure, she was quite happy that she now had company after so much time, but did that change the overall situation of being homeless, having no money and being thieves?

She told her companion. Of her life, of this sleazy place, of the everyday battle to survive. Yet, he had this positive attitude all around him, making it easier for her than it ever was.

It was something she couldn't let go of and she wouldn't.

Hearing a loud shout, startling her out of her thoughts, she took a look towards her companion just to see him dart off, the big-bellied man right behind him.

_Now it's my turn._

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A small boy ran for his life, leaving quite literally a trail of dust behind him.

_How can such a fat man run so fast and for so long?_

Dodging and ducking between the people in front of him the boy made his way towards the first meeting place he and his raven haired companion chose before going out on their quest of stealing water.

He deliberately chose the more dangerous part of their 'heists' to spare Rukia of any unnecessary danger, especially after the incident a couple of weeks ago, that day when they met.

He was really glad that he met her, or he'd be lost. He didn't even know what this place was.

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_The two were sitting together, leaning against a fallen tree, sharing an apple for breakfast that they'd just stolen. It was just yesterday that they met, not under the nicest circumstances, but still a nice coincidence. After just one day, they could say that they enjoyed the other's company. They didn't need to talk; just sitting with the other in comfortable silence was enough._

_Biting off a chunk of the apple and handing it to the girl next to him, he finally asked what was in his mind since he landed in this strange place, in this place of anarchy. He saw more crimes in just a few hours than ever before, but- and there was it again- he didn't really remember anything from before landing in this place._

"_Rukia?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_What is this place?"_

_Glancing at her companion after swallowing her bite of the apple and handing it to him, she asked. "What do you mean?"_

"_Well, what is this place? I don't remember ever seeing a place like this…I don't remember anything! I don't know how I got here!"_

_Giving him a sympathetic smile and gasping at the pain she still felt in her sore face, the raven haired girl answered. "You really don't know, do you? This is the afterlife, Ichigo. You are dead. I am dead. Everyone here is dead. This," she indicated with her hand at him, "This is not your body. This is your soul."_

_The orange haired boy had a thoughtful expression on his face as he continued his with his questions. "But how come I don't remember a thing from before?"_

_Now his companion too wore a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked up at the bright sky. "I don't know, Ichigo. I can't answer this question without having to guess. I don't have a real starting-point to start thinking about this question since I was a baby when I landed here. In all those years I've been here I never really conversed with anybody, let alone about a question like that. It always was about surviving after I could more or less look after myself."_

"_Well, let's keep surviving together then!" Ichigo grinned at her, his grin morphing into a frown after realizing something. "Wait, you said that you were here for years. How many years do you mean?"_

"_I don't know. 20? 30? Something like that."_

_Ichigo could only raise an unbelieving eyebrow at that. "You think I'm stupid? You can't be that old. You are still like…real tiny."_

_It was a red faced Rukia's wrath he had to face after that statement and learned the painful kind of way about the strange aging and growing in the afterlife._

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Out of breath but with a wide grin Ichigo arrived at their meeting point, a small clearance with many fallen trees around- a place, that was quite easy to remember once being found.

"Finally. I've been waiting here the whole day." A just arriving Rukia said with annoyance quite obvious in her voice.

"You've been just arriving yourself!"

"Hush and drink. It doesn't matter who arrived first, since discussing about it doesn't change that you were slow and kept me waiting."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Ichigo shouted, still taking the small jug water Rukia managed to steal while muttering about _annoying brats_ and silently complaining about _ungrateful partners_.

Taking a small gulp, he handed the jug back to Rukia while staring intently at her face. Reaching a hand out and grasping her chin he turned her head this way and that, always keeping his scrutinizing eyes firmly planted on her face.

A now desperately blushing and deeply irritated Rukia- irritated _because_ she was blushing- tried pushing his hand away while at the same time trying not to spill any of the water in the jug. "What are you doing?!"

Finally letting go of her face, Ichigo looked at her with a satisfied smile. "Your bruises are gone."

While surprised, her mouth formed a small "O" and her brows rose up, but she quickly switched back to the frown. "You couldn't have just told me? You practically had to molest me because of that?"

"I didn't-" Ichigo wanted to defend his actions without having any defense at hand, as he was interrupted by a sound he hadn't heard before. "What was that?"

Rukia on the other hand lost all color in her face, her face turning ashen as she recognized that sound.

"Ichigo, run."

"What?" He turned to look at his companion, but the sound echoed again through the forest, reaching his ears in their clearance and getting his attention, sounding closer.

"Ichigo, we need to run!"

"Why? What is this sound?"

"Ichigo, I'll explain but please-" She tried as she grabbed his arms, the jug now all but forgotten.

The howling sound echoed again through the forest, accompanied by the sound of a huge weight hitting the ground, making it tremble and trees could be heard falling.

Ichigo, realizing that whatever it was, was massive turned now himself away from the sound, starting to drag Rukia behind him as he heard a close tree falling, a shadow darkening the sky above him.

Looking up, all he saw was a white and menacingly grinning mask.


End file.
